JAMA holds motorcycle roundtable

Delegates from each of the Japanese Automobile Manufacturers Association’s (JAMA) four major companies recently gathered for a discussion and commentary on the world marketplace, in addition to other topics, JAMA said in a statement Feb. 8.

Led by a moderator, each spoke briefly on some of the issues the industry is facing.

Regarding performance in Asian markets, Suzuki’s Tsugihiro said, “China is our largest market. Next year we’ll be launching a new joint venture [in China], and are thinking in terms of supplying products built there to destinations outside China.”

Turning to Europe and North America, participants saw a mixed bag.

“In the U.S., neither our motorcycles nor our all-terrain recreational vehicles are doing so well,” said Honda’s Harada. “In contrast, sales in Europe remain strong. But it’s a mature market, so growth potential is limited. One positive aspect is that the market there is expanding into Eastern Europe.”

“Although our U.S. sales are down, their decline hasn’t proven commensurate with the slump in the economy, so we’re determined to keep performance figures up,” said Kawasaki’s Tamba. “The European market to date was driven by Italy and Spain, but sales in those two countries have fallen off, whereas in the U.K. and Germany they’ve picked up.”

Looking to South America, the delegates saw lots of growth potential.

“We think demand in Brazil will climb to about 2.5 million units per year by 2010-11” compared to the 1.6 million sold in 2007 in the country, said Yamaha’s Araki. “Colombia is also performing well, and with the focus on Brazil we see South America generating robust results over the next five to six years at least.”